Local Actions with Electric and Magnetic Sources

TL;DR

This paper derives a covariant action for self-dual fields in superstring theory, generalizes it with sources, and applies it to obtain a local Maxwell action with electric and magnetic sources in four dimensions.

Contribution

It introduces a covariant superstring-derived action for self-dual fields and extends it to include sources, resulting in a local Maxwell theory with electric and magnetic charges.

Findings

Derived a covariant action for self-dual five-form fields.

Generalized the action to include electric and magnetic sources.

Obtained a local Maxwell action with sources in four dimensions.

Abstract

Superstring field theory was recently used to derive a covariant action for a self-dual five-form field strength. This action is shown to be a ten-dimensional version of the McClain-Wu-Yu action. By coupling to D-branes, it can be generalized in the presence of sources. In four dimensions, this gives a local Maxwell action with electric and magnetic sources.